Our Staff
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Ashley Storrow, Program Director
Contact: [email protected] Ashley’s passion for community building began in Portland Maine where she worked as the Assistant Director for the State of Maine’s Refugee Resettlement Program. She later received her Masters in Intercultural Service, Leadership and Management at the School For International Training where she focused on designing programs in arts education for social change. For the past 5 years, she has worked at Vermont Academy as the vocal instructor and also as the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Director. She performs as a singer-songwriter in the duo, “The Early Risers.” She lives in Putney with her husband, two young daughters, a slew of chickens, and a wildly large vegetable garden. |
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Putnam Smith, Theater Chair Since graduating Bowdoin College with a degree in philosophy, Putnam Smith has worked as an actor, director, playwright, nationally touring musician, farmer, letterpress printer, teacher, and librarian. As the Education Director at the New England Youth Theatre, Putnam wrote and directed numerous plays, and organized the Town Schools Theatre Program, working with numerous elementary schools throughout Windham county. He lives on a working homestead in Putney, Vermont, with his wife and two kids. |
Teaching Staff
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Trish Roberts, Afterschool Drama Teaching Artist
Trish Roberts has been engaging children and teens in theatrical endeavors for over twenty years. She has directed preschoolers and elementary-aged children both for after-school and homeschool programs, including literature-based drama programs, and has staged several full-length productions at the high-school level. She holds a BA from Middlebury College and a CT teaching certificate in both French and Theatre, has a Master’s Degree in English Literature from Trinity College, and is the founder and director of Wildbrook Forest Theatre, a nature-based theatre project in Westminster, VT. She is thrilled to be offering the imagination-building work of theater through the Main Street Arts After-School Drama program. |
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Amber Paris, Creative Aging Teaching Artist Amber Paris is a Putney-based visual artist and creative community engagement facilitator. She has taught bookmaking across Southern Vermont for the past 12 years. You can learn more about Amber and see her work at amberparis.net. |
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Evie Lovett, Creative Aging Teaching Artist Evie’s work spans cyanotype and analog photography, digital media, storytelling, encaustic painting, teaching, public art and community art-making and placemaking. What fuels her is putting the tools of art-making in people’s own hands, enabling them to explore aspects of themselves, their families, their communities, and the world around them through art-making and community collaboration, fearlessly and with joy. Visit: https://www.creativeground.org/profile/evie-lovett |
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Annie Quest, Evie Lovett, Creative Aging Teaching Artist Annie Quest has been a jewelry maker, painter, theater director, stage and lighting designer, and musician for many decades. Having performed and shown her work throughout New England, she is now concentrating her energies on jewelry making and painting. She has recently shown her paintings in two venues and is developing an exhibition CV. She just retired from teaching art, art history, and social emotional learning at the Greenwood School in Putney VT. She is currently a social coach for young adults. View some of her current work here: https://www.marlborocommunity.center/art-exhibits |
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Susan Rosano, Creative Aging Teaching Artist
Susan E. Rosano, MA, is a Mosaic and Mural Artist with a Master’s Degree in Fine Art from Wesleyan University. Susan’s mosaic work has been shown at craft fairs, galleries and she has given mosaic classes in different venues across New England for the past 20 years. Susan is also a Registered Expressive Arts Consultant and Educator, with a Registration from the International Expressive Art Therapy Association. For the past twenty years she has taught many different types of creative arts projects with communities throughout New England as a Master Teaching Artist on the juried rosters of the Vermont Arts Council, Vermont Arts Council’s Creative Aging Teaching Artist, State of New Hampshire Arts in Healthcare, Arts for Learning Connecticut, and the State of Connecticut Commission on the Arts. Visit: https://www.creativeground.org/profile/vermont-mosaics |
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John Bohannon, Tai Chi/Qi gong: John Bohannon has been practicing tai chi and qigong for about 30 years. He has practiced two versions of the Yang tai chi form and some of the more than 7000 qigong forms. He has led groups in Saxtons River and Bellows Falls for the last 10 years. In his practice he emphasizes the health and meditative aspects of the forms, as opposed to the martial aspect. He also finds great value in the social bonds that seem to arise from practicing these arts in a group. Jill Newton, String Band Teaching Artist Jill Newton has been fiddling for square and contra dances and festive occasions since the early 70’s, and has led the Main Street Arts String Band since its inception in the mid 90’s. She has a vast repertoire of traditional tunes, mainly with French Canadian, Celtic and Scandinavian roots. She is the president of the Northeast Fiddlers Assoc, and has played in the Windham Philharmonic (formerly the Windham Orchestra) for more than 50 years. She is a retired math teacher and a beekeeper. |
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Matt Peake, Dance Teaching Artist Matthew Peake was a practicing family physician in Rockingham for 27 years before changing careers in 2006 to become a visual artist. He has been dancing a variety of dances over the last two decades, and his interest in bringing dance into our community prompted him and his dancing friends to offer dance instruction at Main Street Arts beginning in 2022 as "Matt Peake and Friends." |
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Sarah Carisle & Stu Fuchs, Family Music Teaching Artists Sarah and Stu are both life long, highly trained musicians who have toured the world performing and teaching. Together, they recorded on Snatam Kaur’s 2018 Grammy-nominated album “Beloved”. Stu has a global presence in ukulele education. Sarah holds a teaching license in music education. They live in West West with their music-loving 3 year old, Rowan. |
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Michael Zerphy is a storyteller, clown, poet, musician, banjo jokester and mirth instigator. His inventive and diverse performances defy conventional description and have captivated audiences of all ages across the US and Europe for decades. His shows include FoolzJourney, Zany Acts, Cahoots and The Wacky Zerphy Boys. He has presented performances, workshops and residencies in schools and theaters across the US and is on the Performing Arts Rosters of Vermont and New Hampshire and is a juried member of the New England Common Ground Artist Registry. https://mzerphy.wixsite.com/michaelzerphy Ham Gillett holds a BA in Theater/English from UVM. He also holds an MFA with Honors in Acting from UNC/Chapel Hill where he performed with the resident professional acting company, Playmakers Repertory Company and taught acting to undergraduates for two years. Ham performed professionally in regional theaters for 10 years as a member of Actor’s Equity Association. Representative roles during his fifteen years as a professional actor include Captain Hook in Peter Pan, Don Quixote in Man of La Mancha, Sir Toby Belch in Twelfth Night and Reverend Hale in The Crucible. Locally, he performs with We the People Theater and Bel Canto Chamber Singers. He starred in Love Letters at Pentangle, and his reading of "A Child's Christmas in Wales" has been a perennial favorite in Woodstock for 23 years. https://www.creativeground.org/profile/hamilton-gillett Stephanie Sullivan, Gallery Coordinator Stephanie believes in creating opportunities for everyone to be inspired by art. She brings both her perspective as a working artist and an extensive background in gallery and museum exhibit preparation to MSA. Creator of the Gallery Lounge, Stephanie is interested in finding adaptive ways for artists and organizations to collaborate, connect, and contribute to their communities. Since arriving in Westminster in 2018, her days are full of art/work, supporting the local community, and managing habitat stewardship projects on the 54 acres of forest she calls home. To see artwork and current projects visit: sullivanart.net |